A Restart
by Donut Yang
Summary: Basically, the beginning of Donny Yang. ((Will have yaoi and is M-rated for that. Don't like don't read. Adult scenes in later chapters. SlyFoxHoundXDonny Yang. SET SAIL ON THE SLYYANG SHIP. S.S.SLYYANG ALL ABOARD))
1. Chapter 1

Light filtered through the dense treetops, illuminating the forest floor beneath it. Everything seemed quite normal; the butterflies fluttering around the air, the birds singing their lullabies, animals of all kinds racing through the bracken, wind swishing the long grass around and around in a calming motion. It was a lovely day.

But yet, almost every day is an adventure, yeah?

**Adventure...**

A vibrant blue butterfly fluttered as it pushed itself up eyelashes, making a figure in the grass stir.

It fluttered again, the body underneath it beginning to move. A pair of dark eyes slowly opened.

A low groan was heard, as the boy in the grass wiggled slightly, trying to break free of his green prison. Like a newborn child, he pushed his way up, the barely audible sound of grass shifting and breaking heard.

It took a while, but eventually, it happened. The boy was now sitting up, dark, dark locks of hair sticking to his face, curling around his neck, messy, but in a nice way.

The boy yawned, rubbing his eyes, making the butterfly flutter off of his delicate, tan face.

_Where am I? Why am I sleeping in the forest? When did I get here?_

The boy tried to remember, but he was only met by a headache. He sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked around groggily.

_A gray backpack...and a scarf? Wait, those are mine! They are, aren't they?_

The backpack was, indeed, gray. The scarf looked ridiculously long, but was striped gray and red. The boy was attracted to it. He took it into his hands before wrapping it around his neck.

It was very comfortable. It seemed quite strong. Fixing it to make sure it would stay and not annoy him, he reached for the backpack. He opened it carefully, searching through it.

Nothing. But the boy _did _find a name engraved on one of the straps.

**DONNY YANG**

_Donny Yang... Wait! That's my name! This is mine..._

The boy, newly dubbed as 'Donny' hurriedly threw the backpack on. He look down at his legs.

Leaves, twigs, and vines held them down, but they were thin. Donny tried to move his legs, but they were asleep. He hissed at the feeling, before leaning forwards to rip the green debris off.

When he was finished, he fell back onto the grass, already feeling tired. His stomach growled loudly and he winced.

_Argh... So hungry._

Donny began to shake his legs around, trying to get the feeling back into them. The brunette yawned, rubbing the grit from his eyes.

Slowly, he stood up. It was wobbly, but he made it.

Panting, he leaned against a tree trunk for support. His stomach growled again and his legs ached terribly. He looked up at the sky.

The expanse of said sky was a brilliant blue. It seemed that the sun was just starting to climb up the vault of blue. Donny could see it's bright shape through the clouds.

_Huh... It looks like its going to rain soon. Not good. I have to find some shelter._

Fixing his scarf, Donny began to walk aimlessly through the forest, which was growing darker and darker. Almost immediately, Donny could feel drops of water sprinkle onto his face.

_It rains fast. How strange._

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Rain sprinkled onto pale skin.

Hands clasped, eyes closed, clothes sticking to skin.

Martyn IntheLittleWood hummed, opening both of his eyes before sprinkling white dust over a dewy sapling, which he shielded from the rain. Water would soil the process altogether, and the blonde did not want that.

This is what the Druid usually did. Cutting down trees for firewood and other purposes, before growing it again with the powers of the Forest.

The sapling seemed to grow with green sparkles. This went on for a few moments, before sprouting up into the sky.

Now for the tricky part.

Martyn closed his eyes and clasped his hands together once more, twitching slightly.

**Magic.**

That's what it is. Pure magic.

The tree grew taller and taller, and finally, Martyn didn't feel anymore rain. He looked up and smiled.

A healthy oak. With strong, hard wood. Martyn ran his hand through the bark, his hand trailing with green sparks.

As if the tree was saying thank you, an apple fell beside Martyn's feet. He bent down, picking it up.

A rustle from the bushes made him freeze. Instantly, he reached for his bow, eyes narrowing.

Sometimes you could never trust anything in the forest.

The Druid tapped into his powers. His vision turned slightly green as he connected with the forest.

...

...apparently, there was a person in those bushes.

"Hello! Is anyone there? Come out!" Martyn shouted, cautious.

Another rustle was heard, and a brown head of hair popped up. Martyn jumped, nearly letting the arrow fly.

Apparently, a brunette, who was completely soaked. He looked quite famished and pale. And... Were his lips blue?

Deep down inside, Martyn knew that this wasn't a bad person.

"Oh! Are you sick?"

The boy was shivering, rubbing his arms. A desperate way to try and get warm.

And what strange clothing he wore! Oh well. Martyn always saw strange things, like animals talking, trees growing straight up the ground...

"Ah...uhm... Yes. Can you h-help me?"

Martyn hurried towards the brunette, but carefully. You always had to be cautious.

As the blonde approached, he knew that the boy was starving. Looking at the apple he still held, he handed it to the other.

"Eat up. You look hungry."

The boy stared at the apple for a moment. It was slightly wet, which made it shine a brilliant scarlet. He looked up at Martyn with dark eyes, before nodding in thanks and taking a small bite from the apple.

As if he had just realized how hungry he actually was, the boy began to take bigger bites. Martyn chuckled.

"What's your name?"

The boy stopped chewing for a second and swallowed. "I'm Donny. Donny Yang. Thank you for the food... But do you have more? I'm sorry if I'm troubling you. But, uh, do you know where I am? I just woke up and-"

Martyn smiled and gave Donny an encouraging pat on the arm. The brunette jumped at the contact.

"Calm down, lad. I have more food at home. Would you like to come with me?"

Donny looked down at the half-eaten apple, as if he was thinking it over.

"Well... I just met you. And are you sure? You just met me."

"For starters, I'm Martyn! Martyn IntheLittleWood. Nice to meet you. And yes, I'm sure. Its nice to have company. My house is a little too big for me."

Donny nodded slowly.

"Well... Okay."

Martyn stood up and offered a hand to Donny, helping him up. Donny's hand was slightly sticky from the apple, but Martyn didn't mind. What amused him was the obvious height difference. But he hid a chuckle.

"I saw you grow the tree. How do you do that?" Donny asked, as he followed Martyn.

"Well, I'm a Druid! I have to keep the forests running."

"Druid? That sounds familiar..."

"Hmm. Well Donny, I think you're going to like my house. Its not too far from this large town. The people are quite friendly..."


	2. Chapter 2

"ACHOO!"

"Oh! Bless you."

Donny sniffed, curling himself deeper into the wool blanket.

"Thank you."

Martyn was in the kitchen, while Donny was sitting in small, warm living room. The fireplace was crackling softly, it's orange, soft glow illuminating the whole room.

The Druid came back into the living room, holding a tray of food and some warm milk. He placed it in front of Donny, who took the foodstuffs gratefully. Martyn had an apple in his hand, crunching on it loudly.

The two were left in a comfortable silence, only the sounds of the fire and their chewing replacing their voices.

Donny sipped down the last of his milk, his eyelids growing heavy. He glanced out a window, it's curtains drawn slightly.

It was still raining, but it turned into a light drizzle, the clouds slowly shifting away, revealing a small bit of the watercolor sky. The sun was setting.

The brunette looked away, humming at the warmth of his blanket. He glanced up at Martyn.

"Ah... Do you have a shower?"

Martyn snapped himself out of his trance, jumping lightly at the sound of Donny's soft tone. He gave him a sheepish smile.

"Oh! Right. Sorry for jumping. It's upstairs. You can go ahead and use it, if you would like to."

Donny gave Martyn his own, little secret smile.

"I see. Thanks, Martyn."

"Hmm. You're clothes will be dried by tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, again."

As Donny hurried upstairs, Martyn hummed, finishing his apple. He felt quite comfortable having another presence with him.

"Bless 'im," he said quietly.

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Donny closed the bathroom door behind him, shedding the wool blanket from his skin.

The bathroom was small, but it only made Donny feel more comfortable. It had a large mirror with a sink powered by redstone. It came with a toilet that sat underneath a window which had it's curtains drawn, and finally, the bath, which was mostly a large, wooden bowl connected by metal and redstone.

It was fancy.

Donny checked himself in the mirror.

His darkish-brown hair was messy. He made a face as he fixed several strands of hair. The pink blush of his cold was starting to fade. A warm bath should fix it.

Instead of his other clothes, Donny wore a green undershirt and some boxers that Martyn had handed him.

Donny wondered why he had such strange clothes(1).

The brunette pulled the undershirt over his head, placing the clothes and blanket on the toilet. Completely nude, Donny looked at himself again.

Normal. Unblemished. Freshly shaved. But Donny felt a strange, itchy sensation on his lower chest...

Ignoring the feeling, Donny turned the valve for the bath on.

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

"What do you see?" Templar Adaephon asked, rubbing his graying beard.

Madame Nebescu frowned, leaning forwards to see the water in the cauldron clearly. She placed a hand on the edge of the large, iron bowl.

"I see... I see..."

The fortune-teller's eyes widened, and she yelled in surprise, jumping back. Adaephon was quick to catch her. Glancing down at her hand, Adaephon saw it was bleeding.

"Madame! What happened?"

The fortune-teller panted heavy breaths. She was shaking, and all the color from her face seemed drained away.

"He... It is Him. Even da spirits are scared of Him!"

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"Da Dark Lord! Da Fire Prince! He has awoken... He is coming back! Beware! Beware!"

Nebescu looked up at Adaephon, her face full of fear and terror. It had been a long, long time since Adaephon had seen such a look.

"He looked at me... He saw me! He cut me with fiah!"

"Madame! Please calm down!"

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Donny opened one eyes, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

The brunette sat up, rubbing his arms, a sense of dread washing through him. He suddenly had the feeling as if he was being... Watched.

"... Hello?"

...only the sudden feeling greeted him. And Donny thought he saw a smile.

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Martyn sat down on the couch in the living room, reading a book that his friend, Yasminyos, had given him.

It was a strange book! It was about a cat-boy who was taken in and brought up by a powerful Mage. The cat's name was apparently 'Silas(2)'. The name sounded strangely familiar-

"Martyn?"

Donny's soft voice tugged at him. Martyn looked up and offered the brunette a smile.

"Yes?"

Martyn quickly did a thorough scan(3) of Donny. This was a plus of being magical.

The boy seemed quite sheepish. Slightly pale and bothered about something. Martyn thought about scanning Donny deeper, but he thought it would be too intrusive.

"This may sound rude but where do I sleep?"

"Oh! You don't have a home?"

"Didn't I already say that?" Donny asked, raising an eyebrow. Martyn laughed nervously.

"Right. Well, you can go ahead and sleep in the guest room. It's at the end of the hallway on the second floor, on your right. Its across from my room, so just holler if you need me."

Donny smiled. "Thanks a lot, Martyn. I would probably be dead by now."

_True that. _Martyn nodded. "Are you going to sleep right now?"

"Yes. Well... Isn't warm milk the elixir of sleep?"

Martyn chuckled. "Yep. Well, I'll be right behind ya." The Druid closed the book in his lap, standing up to place it on the bookshelf. The small slapping sound of Donny's feet was heard, and Martyn hurried up the stairs, bidding Donny a 'good night'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Red and heat...**

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Donny hummed quietly to himself as he threw his clothes on. Glancing out the window, he saw the wet grass, the dewy trees, and the birds waking from their nests, shedding droplets from their feathers.

_I would like to fly like those birds someday..._

After stuffing his feet into his boots and wrapping his scarf around his neck expertly, Donny grabbed his empty, gray backpack and opened the door to his room. The brunette noted that the door to Martyn's room was open all the way. Poking his head inside, Donny looked around.

Martyn's room was very neat and organized. In the corner of the room sat a bed with a green blanket that had some sort of swirly symbol. Donny noticed that it was the same symbol Martyn had on his shirt, which was equally green.

Anyway, there was a nightstand by the bed, along with a carpet on the floor and a few paintings in the room. One of the paintings was a landscape of the forest itself, seemingly taken from the view of a mountain that looked over a forest.

_Interesting..._

"Donny! You done? I made breakfast!"

"Coming!"

Donny hurried down the hallway, quickly but quietly. His black boots made small taps on the hardwood flooring. He walked down the stairs, greeting the Druid.

"Good morning, Martyn."

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Your house is very comfortable."

"Aw, thank you! Well, c'mon! Eat up!"

Martyn gestured Donny to sit at the chair across from him, where a plate of food waited for the boy. He sat down and picked up the eating utensil close to him.

As Donny slowly chewed his food, he noticed the many bags scattered on the couch in the living room.

Swallowing, he asked, "Are you going to do something today?"

Martyn washed his food down with a sip of water. He nodded and smiled.

"Yep! I'm going to the farmer's market because I need to restock on some more food. Winter is just around the corner."

"Can I come? I would like to help."

"Oh, okay. I'll be needing a lot of items, anyway. Sadly, I don't have a cart just yet. But I do have a mule!"

The brunette nodded, finishing his food quickly.

"Sounds like a plan."

"You eat really fast, you know."

"Mhmm. I'll gather the bags."

"Hey, wait for me!"

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

"So, what's his name again?" Donny asked, as he brushed his hand against the mule's side. The hide under his fingers shifted in appreciation.

Martyn smiled and patted the mule on the head.

"I didn't give him a name. He told me that he didn't want a name!"

"He... _Told _you."

"Yep! Being a Druid, I can understand animals. Its very neat."

Donny didn't really believe it, but remembering what happened when seeing Martyn grow that tree, he decided to believe it, even if his logic protested against it.

"I see. I- hey!"

The mule began to nibble on Donny's fingers. The brunette shuddered at the strange feeling. Martyn laughed.

"Look at that. He says he wants you to ride on him! He's taken a liking to you."

Donny rose an eyebrow at the mule, who looked up at him with those beady eyes.

The boy side and looked down.

"Che. Okay."

He placed one foot on the metal buckles that would pull him upwards. Carefully, Donny lowered himself onto the saddle.

It was a strange feeling- being so high up. Donny's stomach lurched when the mule shifted as Martyn placed two large bags on said mule. The Druid chuckled, handing a few bags to Donny.

"You might want to hang on tight, okay? The road can be a bit rough, sometimes." Martyn sighed as he tapped the sword on his side. Donny blinked at the gesture.

The blonde gave him an encouraging smile.

"Well, if we get separated, I'll catch up! Mule knows where to go, trust me."

After a few more minutes of attaching bags to the mule, Martyn nodded.

"Okay. We're off!"

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

"So what's this town going to be like?" Donny asked, as he crunched on an apple.

Martyn was feeding some wheat to the mule. "Well, for starters, let's just say its very large. Lotsa friendly people. But sometimes, it can get pretty empty. They just come and go."

"Why's that?"

"Dunno! But we're pretty rich in this town. Everyone works together here. C'mon, boy."

The mule finished the rest of the wheat and began to turn to the road again. As Donny finished his apple, he began to think.

_A big town, huh. Sounds nice... I wonder what kind of people there are? Maybe I'll be able to settle down?_

"Donny. Donny! We're here, lad!"

The brunette looked up. His eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

"It's... Amazing," he said, quietly. Martyn laughed at his surprised face.

"Great, isn't it?" C'mon! We have to go get the good items!"

The duo began to hurry down the path. Donny swallowed down the rest of his apple and held the reins tightly, not wanting the fly off.

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

Different kinds of people crowded the streets. Some were tall, some were short, some were wide, and some were thing. Donny was amazed to see this much mixed people(1) in one spot. Martyn was currently leading them both, since he seemed to know where to go.

"What are we going to buy first, Martyn?!" Donny asked, making sure to shout so that the Druid would hear him through the noise.

"We're going to visit my friend, Yasminyos! She sells fish!"

"Okay! Lead the way!"

The both of them made their way through the crowd quickly, and before Donny knew it, they were in a large plaza. Stands stood at the edges, people surrounding the said stands. Thankfully, the plaza, which seemed to be the middle of the town, didn't have that much people, but there was still a lot.

But what caught Donny's eyes was the statue in the middle of the town.

The statue was made out of the purest iron that shone brightly in the light of the sun. It showed a man, holding a sword and a whole set of armor. His face was that of ambition, determination and happiness.

As Martyn and Donny came closer, Donny noted that there was a golden plaque on the statue, which said, in big bold letter, **STEVE**.

Donny tugged on Martyn's shirt. The Druid glanced up at Donny.

"Yes?"

"Who's Steve? It says the name right there, on the plaque."

Martyn seemed to freeze. He gave Donny a look of disbelief.

"Whaaat? You don't know who Steve is?"

"No, I'm sorry if I offended you..."

Martyn sighed. "Well, okay. I'll tell you when we get back home, alright? I-"

"Woah! Be careful!"

The duo halted, and Donny looked up.

A group of men stood in front of them. And in front of the said group was a man in a red cap. Quite tall. He had an aloof look on his face.

"Hey, Martyn! How are you doing?"

Marytn laughed nervously.

"Ah, I'm good. Sorry! I nearly bumped into you."

"No, its fine. Go on ahead."

Martyn nodded and began to pull the mule through the men. But as they passed, Donny noticed that he gained quite a few stares.

Martyn sighed as they were finally out of the group. Donny leaned forwards to be closer to Martyn.

"Who were those people?"

"Oh, them? They're a popular group here, the Creatures, and they are a bit rowdy, but otherwise, they are good people."

"... You looked a bit distressed when the tall one talked to you."

"He's... Well, he's kinda the leader of that group. I'm surprised he knew me. But then again, everyone in this town knows each other."

"What do they do?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. But they do a lot of things that help keep the town in order. Like mob-hunting, mining, cooking, hunting, all that stuff."

"Do you know them?"

"Everyone does. There's Kootra, Danz, James, Aleks, SlyFoxHound-"

"Maybe I can talk to them one day?"

Martyn seemed a bit surprised.

"Well, again, they are quite rowdy-"

"MARTYYYYN!"

The duo jumped. Even the mule made a noise of surprise.

At one stand stood a gray-haired neko. She looked quite young and pretty. She wore a colorful shirt that had some sort of... Sprinkled pastry on it and rainbow pants. She waved at them frantically.

Martyn hurried towards her stand, greeting the neko idly. Donny watched them awkwardly with lidded eyes, looking anywhere but them to avoid the said awkwardness.

But finally, Martyn tapped his shoulder. Donny jumped at the contact and spun around to face him.

"Well, Donny! This is my friend, Yasminyos! She was the one I was talking about. We all call her Yammy, for short."

The neko offered Donny a cat-like smile.

"Hello, Donny! Nice to meet you! Are you staying with Martyn?"

"Y-yeah. I don't have a home, so-"

"Aw! Well, where did you come from?"

Donny blinked.

_...where do I come from?_

Martyn and Yammy were staring at him, expecting an answer. Slowly, their faces faltered as Donny looked down, shaking his head. They shared a concerned glance.

"Oh... Sorry for asking that. Well! Are you going to buy something? Or are we here to gossip like old ladies? I would prefer that much more than shopping, you know!"

The sad mood from earlier seemed to fade. Martyn laughed while Donny smiled at the jokes Yammy would often tell them as she packed the fish.

"Hey, Yammy!"

The three of them looked up.

A man wearing some sort of robot mask and a fox man wearing an orange hoodie seemed to pop out of nowhere. Donny noticed that they were the same persons from the group. The Creatures.

They stood beside the mule and Donny. The brunette sighed through his nose, trying to not stare at them.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and he glanced down-

Only to see that they were both glancing at him as well.

Donny coughed awkwardly, and Martyn quickly finished the order. He handed Donny the bag of fish, but Donny jumped when he felt a tap on his side. He looked back and saw the fox man staring at him.

He had on black glasses. His ears looked soft and furry. Donny had the strange urge to scratch those ears. That sounded quite silly, however.

Underneath the orange hoodie, the man wore a purple shirt that had some sort of gelatinous, green creature, along with black pants and shoes.

"What's your name?" the fox asked, with a funny smile on his bearded face.

"...Donny Yang. Your's?"

"I'm Sly! SlyFoxHound! Nice to meet you."

Martyn began to pull away the mule. As Donny turned away, he suddenly thought of how familiar the fox man looked.


	4. Chapter 4

"...well, look at that. We're almost done," Martyn said, glancing down at a small piece of paper in his hands. Donny glanced over the blonde's shoulder to see it better.

"That's not a lot of stuff, but yet, we're going far too slow, Martyn."

"I know, I keep on getting distracted."

"Martyn!"

The duo looked up. Martyn's blue eyes widened and began to sparkle with excitement.

A dwarf and a spaceman were trotting towards them on horses that wore iron armor. The spaceman seemed tall; as tall as Martyn, while the dwarf was short.

The spaceman wore a brown jacket, with a dangerous-looking sword on his back. The sword shone a solid turquoise, and Donny realized it was made out of diamond. He seemed younger than he should have been, but yet, very wise, with a hard, inquisitive look plastered over that strong face. His blue eyes showed ambition and determination, eager to see what else was in this world.

The dwarf was a different story. He had a long, flowing ginger beard. His eyes were small and beady, but shined just like the spaceman's diamond sword. He wore a metal hat with horns on it's sides. His muscles were slightly bulged, and he was shirtless, besides a bit of armor on his chest. His pants were dusty and sooted, with charcoal marks running against them as if they weren't washed in a few days. On his burly back, he held a strong-looking diamond pickaxe, a sight to the eyes.

Nonetheless, these two looked a bit intimidating to Donny.

Much to the brunette's dismay, the mule -wanting to follow his master- went closer, until Donny was standing right in front of the other two, next to Martyn. He mentally sighed and cursed the mule.

Then, the three started talking.

Donny would've listened, but he didn't. He wasn't very social, now that he thought about it. But he _did _look out for his name. He at least had to be ready for a conversation.

The boy distracted himself by watching the people, counting them all in a mixed order of foxes, cats, magicians, and other otherworldly entities. He even saw a strange man wearing some sort of black suit and a red tie, his face a pale white no eyes or mouth. No one really seemed to notice that guy, however. And there was also this other guy with skin like metal, a shower of color erupting from his mouth, his eyes square and colorful. And also-

"-onny! Donny! Wake up, lad! Are you listening?"

The snapping of pale fingers made him snap up. "Yes, what is it?"

"Well, these are my friends! Lewis Xephos, and Simon Honeydew!"

The dwarf had a grin full of pale teeth. He held out his hand for Donny to shake, which nearly caused his arm to fall off. Honeydew seemed to be quite a lively dwarf.

But Xephos... He had some sort of look in his eye. A look that Donny found intrusive. But still, the spaceman smiled at him and shook his hand, considerably gentler than Honeydew's. Donny took it with slight cautiousness, but that only made the look grow harder.

Martyn smiled and nodded. "And this is Donny! He's my flatmate."

The word 'flatmate' made Donny tingle with warmth.

_He wants me to be his roommate? He didn't say anything before..._

Words like that made Donny feel needed. A certain sort of quiet giddiness made him do a small, inward smile.

But that giddiness faded when Xephos leaned in just a little, that look never leaving. With a soft smile, he asked, "What's your last name?"

"Yang. Donny Yang."

Xephos seemed to be going through a list in his mind, before nodding, pulling back again. Honeydew and the spaceman shared a look.

_**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

"So, where are you two staying?" Martyn asked.

They were all walking in the plaza, which was full of late people, making it more crowded than ever. Xephos and Honeydew were back on their armored horses, which earned them stares. Most people parted away from them, and Donny noticed some sort of large, red cross on the horses' armors.

"We;re going to go stay at the inn by the tavern. We were told to come here and look for anything suspicious," Xephos explained.

"...what sort of 'suspicious'?"

The spaceman glanced at Donny, who caught that look perfectly.

"I'll tell you later."

"Ah... Oh, look at the clock!"

The Druid pointed at the tall clock tower in the distance. _12:01._

"Lunchtime. Do you guys wanna go eat with us?" Martyn hummed, looking at Honeydew and Xephos, pointing at the nearby tavern.

Honeydew grinned hugely. "I don't see why not."

The group walked towards the tavern. Donny hopped off the mule and Martyn tied it to a post for animals. Xephos and Honeydew did the same.

"What if someone tries to steal our items?" Donny asks.

"Well, Donny. There's always some guards on the lookout. Trust me," replied Martyn, walking inside. Donny glanced back and forth between the mule and Martyn's back in confusion, before sighing and giving in, following Martyn and the other two.

The tavern didn't have a lot of people in it, which was expected. Everyone else was busy outside. Martyn lead the group to a small table in the corner of the tavern.

Unfortunately, Donny was seated next to Xephos, and Martyn with Honeydew. It was very awkward, but at least Xephos barely paid attention to him, chatting with Martyn and Honeydew instead.

Donny felt a little left out.

But then again, they were total strangers who knew only Martyn and not himself. Donny distracted himself again, by doing and undoing his scarf, counting how many bottles were on the shelves and what kind of people were in the tavern. Well, there was a tall man with black hair and red shades. He wore a suit. Then there was this other man, who seemed as tall as Donny. He had some sort of purple amulet on his chest and wore black clothing. And hey! Were those the Creatures?

Indeed, they were.

Donny placed his folded scarf in his lap and smiled softly as he watched the Creatures. They seemed to be having some sort of competition, with one person on the left side, and the other on the right. The persons hands were clasped together, and they seemed to be trying to wrestle each other down.

After a while, Donny grew tired of watching them. At that moment, a young man walked up to them.

"Hi! Do you guys wanna eat something?" He asked, holding a pad and a feather pen.

Martyn nodded. "Hi, Aqua! And yes! I would like to have..."

Donny's concentration wavered again. He tuned out their voices with his empty thoughts, but held an ear for his name.

"Donny? What would you like to eat?"

"Oh... I'm not really hungry."

Martyn made a face.

"You sure? We've been walking around all day, haven't we?"

"You've done the walking. I'm fine, really. But I need to use the restroom," Donny said, fiddling with his thumbs. "I'll eat later, if it makes you feel better."

"Well... Okay. Go on ahead."

The brunette nodded and stood out of his chair, pushing it in. He looked around for a little bit, but spotted the bathroom. He walked towards it, past the Creatures.

And all the while, Sly watched him carefully.


End file.
